Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
